Newhall coffee strikes grocery deal: small roaster provides holiday-themed brew.

Shoppers in Grand Junction, Colo., Springfield, Ill., and suburban Santa Fe this holiday season have a new gift option for a favorite caffeine addict--one all the way from the Santa Clarita Valley.

Newhall Coffee Micro Roasting Co., the family-run bean maker that grew out of a Newhall coffee shop, has inked an agreement to sell its new holiday-themed coffee package at nearly 400 Stater Bros., Ralphs, Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale stores in Colorado, Florida, Washington, North Carolina, Arizona and California.

The products, which first hit shelves after Halloween, have already been a success, said Mitch McMullen, a company founder.

"It's really turning out well," he said. "It hit us overnight."

The idea for the special coffee package, which includes caramel vanilla, peppermint mocha and pumpkin spice, started earlier this fall when Newhall was approached by officials from Costco, McMullen said.

"They wanted us to put together a holiday gift pack," he said.

The deal fell apart, but McMullen decided to take the product to Sam's Club, which snapped up the product. It agreed to place it in several North L.A. County stores to gauge the market.

McMullen said sales were solid and the company lined up more distributors and clients. "It was highly visible," he said. "It worked."

Swift growth

McMullen and his brother, Kyle, founded the company in 1995 as an outgrowth of a coffee shop they owned in Newhall. The small operation eventually added a catering element, providing coffee to a small batch of clients.

Over the years, the distribution has added ever-bigger clients, with a list today that includes the likes of DreamWorks SKG, Warner Bros. and Princess Cruises. Newhall Coffee is also sold to the public at Gelson's, Smart & Final and Pavilions stores and at Wal-Mart locations in Palmdale and Santa Clarita.

The rapid success provided the company with enough funds to expand quickly, jumping on trends, such as theme blends, McMullen said. They created new flavors, such as a "Patriot Blend," 1,000 pounds of which they shipped to troops in Iraq in 2003. The company is already working on special themes for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day.

Adding holiday-themed blends is a common business practice for small roasters wanting to diversify their product line, said Mike Ferguson, a spokesman for Long Beach-based Specialty Coffee Association of America.

"Christmas blends have been a while," he said. "They usually have a breakfast blend and they usually have a Christmas blend. It's tradition."

For McMullen, the quick expansion also shows the benefits of being a small, agile company, he said.

"We can react to the market conditions," McMullen said. "We've stepped it up."

CHRIS COATES 

Staff Reporter